Oil burner



Aug, 31, 1937. J. PEoPLEs OIL BURNER Original Filed May 6, 1935 u 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 N Q Mm mk INVENTQR. Jo/zz Pegles MNM.

ATTORNEY.

Aug. 31, 1937. J, PEOPLES Y 2,091,487

OIL BURNER original Filed May e, 1955 4 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

/f JOM PW@ J. PEOPLES Augo 31, 1937.

OIL BURNER 4 Shets-Sheet 3 Original Filed May 6, 1935 Y f INVENTOR. Ivn ,Pegzle ATTORNEY.

Aug '31 1937- v J. PEoPLEs 2,091,487

OIL BURNER Original Filed May 6, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheetl 4 INVENTOR.

John Peoples ATTORNEY.

o and aldehydes.

Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFica Renewed June 2l, 1937 Application May 6, 1935, Serial No. 19,988

3 Claims.

My invention relates to improvements in oil burners and similar devices.

My invention relates more particularly to a simplified oil burner structure capable of producing an efllcient oil burning operation.

In order to secure a clear understanding of my invention, I desire to offer a short explanation of the theory of combustion which is carried out by my improved construction.

Three theories of combustion have been announced and followed in the oil burning industry since the burning of oil for heating purposes came into use.

The first two, the preferential combustion of carbon theory and the preferential combustion of oxygen theory, have been followed for years by combustion engineers in the design of oil burner equipment. The third, the hydroxylation theory which appears to be the only correct theory, is now the generally accepted theory and is being generally followed by combustion engineers in designing oil burners.

Under the hydroxylation theory, a certain mixing of gases by a chemical process must take place before combustion. This mixing involves the addition of oxygen to vaporized oil molecules to produce alcohols and aldehydes from original hydrocarbons and the -oxygen in the air.

The addition of oxygen to hydrocarbons before heating in the flame is very desirable. vIf this is not done, soot is produced; if it is, carbon monoxide ls produced. In other words, if oil vapors are heated that have not had oxygen combined with them, it will produce soot. If, howo ever, oxygen has been properly added to the hydrocarbons, it causes av chemical combination to take place, and heating this product will not produce soot, but rather will produce carbon monoxide-a clean burning gas in place of soot. Therefore, every combustion problem involves a race between hydroxylation and cracking. If hydroxylation occurs before cracking, there will be no soot. If cracking occurs before hydroxylation, it will produce soot.

Cracking takes place after making alcohols It is desirable to keep the fuel mixture that is being formed at a low point or below the cracking temperature of hydrocarbons, which is approximately 650 Fahrenheit, because the cracking of hydrocarbons will produce soot; whereas if alcohols and aldehydes are formed before any cracking is done, thenA alcohols and aldehydes break down chemically in such a way as to produce carbon'monoxide-a clean gasrather than soot.

Many of the burners of the prior art ran liquidv oil out on red hot vaporplates, which was the ideal condition for producing soot'. Hence it was necessary to produce very active mixing of air and to take great precautions to get the soot burned up instead of having it get away and deposit in the upper parts of the boiler as an insulator.

An object of my invention is to provide a. burner which will produce a maximum amount of hydroxylation.

A further object is to provide a burner having more simple and more effective means of hydroxylating.

A further object of my invention is to provide a burner of the type described capable of installation or removal as a unit, comparatively light and capable of easy manipulation by a single person.

A -further object is to provide an oil burner construction so arranged that a very small fan or blower unit will provide sulclent forced draft for heating at its maximum efficiency. A further object is to provide an improved supporting frame member for installing or removing the burner as a unit.

A further object is to provide improved means for sealing the opening into which the burner has been placed easily and quickly so that an ordinary workman can install the apparatus.

Other objects and advantages will be Amore apparent from the following description, wherein reference is had to the accompanying four sheets of drawings, upon which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of my im? proved oil burner showing the same operatively mounted in an ordinary type of furnace;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the split plates which form an air seal over the supporting frame;

Fig. 31s a perspective view of the solenoid valve in the fuel supply line;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view through the mixing chamber taken on the line of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary developed view of the conical wall of the mixing chamber showing the spacing of the air holes;

Fig. 6v is a cross-sectional view through the air tube and associated parts, taken generally on the lines 6-6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 Ais a perspective view of the supporting frame for the burner unit; l

Fig. 8 is a side view partially in section, of a float valve used in connection with the fuel supply line;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the burner showing the manner in which the same is capable of handling as a single unit;

Fig. 10 is an enlarged detailed view of the gas supply control, and

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of a modified type of mixing chamber.

Referring generally to Fig. 1, I have shown the burner unit A mounted in the ash door opening I0 of the usual type of furnace F with the burner proper extending to the center of the furnace.

With this arrangement the mixing chamber I2 is shown positioned vertically in the center of the furnace and the air tube |4 may extend outwardly therefrom through a supporting frame I6 and be connected on the outside of the furnace with a housing I8 within which the fan motor and the various controls may be located.

The mixing chamber I2 is attached to a base,

or bowl portion 20 provided with a foot member 22 which is normally supported in an operating position in a groove 24 that is provided in an exi tended bar 26 which is secured in the frame I6. A suitable levelling stud- 28 and locking nut 30 are provided at the extended end of bar 26 to adjust the height of the bar to a desired position. The bar 26, which is rectangular in shape, is adapted to extend at its forward end into a groove 32 in a bearing portion 34 extending rearwardly from the frame I6.

A locking stud 36 is provided to securely hold the bar 26 in a desired extended position. The frame I6 is provided with a pair of ear portions 38 and 40 through which adjusting studs 42 extend to regulate the desired height thereof for placing the frame in a level position.

After the frame has been placed in a desired level position in the ash door opening of the furnace, brick and mortar M may be placed around the border of frame I6 to make an air-tight seal in the door opening. With the frame in position,

the burner unit A may now be moved into operative position on the frame with the foot 22 resting in the groove 24 and the air tube I4 resting upon the L-shaped support members 44, provided upon the sides of frame I6.

Referring now to Fig. 4, the mixing chamber I2 may be formed as a conically shaped tube of comparatively thin sheet metal which has been provided with a plurality of rows of minute open- 40 ings I2'.

In the construction which I have shown, I provide four rows of openings spaced a considerable distance apart and five rows of openings spaced comparatively close together, the ve rows being adjacent the throat or apex 46 of the mixing chamber I2.

The lower end 48 of the cone-shaped chamber I2 is adapted to seat upon the outside of a iiange 50 which extends upwardly from the bowl mem- 50 ber 20. This member is also provided with a horizontal flange 52 which extends outwardly therefrom and provides a shoulder for the lower wall 54 of the air tube I4. A circular retaining ring 56 is provided with a tapered bore 58 into which the upper end 46 of the mixing chamber I2 is seated. The upper wall 60 of the air tube I4 may lie beneath the ring 56, and as thus assembled, the bowl, the mixing chamber, and the air tube are securely held together by a plurality 60 of bolt members 62 which extend through the ring 56 and the flange 52 of the bowl 20, and which are provided with suitable fastening nuts to hold the same together.

The bowl 20 is provided in its floor with inlet openings 64 for fueloil and 66 for gas for ignition purposes. Conduits 68 and 'I0 may extend -from these openings to suitable sources of oil and gas supply.

The housing I8 as previously described is 70 adapted to be fastened to the front end of the tube I4. A comparatively small and light duty motor 12 is provided mounted upon a supporting member I4 attached to a side wall of the housing I8. A motor shaft 16 may extend through a damper arrangement into the air tube I4 and a fan member 18 may be secured to the shaft within the tube as shown. The fan 'I8 may be of the Sirocco type capable of drawing air through the draft openings which may be controlled by a damper 82 which may be manually regulated by a knob member 84.

The oil conduit 68 lmay extend forward into the housing I8 and pass through a magnetic valve 86 of the type shown in Fig. 3. This valve is of the solenoid type which is adapted to close off the fuel supply upon the failure of current to hold the core of the solenoid in raised position so that when current to the motor fails, current through the lines 88 to the windings of the -solenoid is also shut off and the plunger drops, whereby the flow of fuel to the burner is closed oil'.

A conduit 90 may extend from the valve 86 to a second valve 92 which is in the nature of a iioat valve adapted to shut of! the supply of oil to the burner whenever the pressure becomes too great. The float valve 82 is of the general type employing a float 84 and an auxiliary float 96 so that when the oil rises in the primary float chamlber it will overflow into an auxiliary chamber `from the side of the float body. A manual adjusting valve |02 is provided to allow the setting of the valve during installation to any desired volume.

'Ihe gas supply conduit 'I0 may extend into the housing I8 as shown, and be provided with the control |04 shown in Fig. 10.l 'I'his control may consist of a metal disc in which a verysmall opening |06 is provided, allowing for the ow of a very small amount of gas which is just suicient to provide a flame when ignited. In this manner the amount of gas which flows to the burner is restricted to such an extent that there is no danger of explosion or other'trouble due to an excess amount of gas.

Access to the compartment |8 and to the motor, valves, control box IIO and transformer II2, may be had by providing a door `I I4 for the front opening of the compartment. The door may be suitably hinged at its lower end in any desirable manner and be further provided with a plurality of louvres |I6 so that air may be drawn to the fan 'I8. This arrangement has the additional advantage of providing cooling means for the motor 12.

A pair of split plates YI4a and |4b which are provided with the complementary openings I4c for the air tube I4 and similar openings 10a and 68a for the conduits, are adapted to be placed upon the outside of frame I6 to form an airtight seal over the opening therein. These plates may be held in position by suitable screw members which may be fastened in the vertical ange of the frame I6'.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a very compact and easily assembled oil burner has been provided. The installation, as is readily apparent, is extremely simple and can easily be done by one inexperienced in the art. f

By the use of the conically shaped vaporizing or mixing chamber, a highly advantageous construction has been provided. This shape eliminates dead cold corners; it produces better controlled movement of the gases through the chamber; it produces a larger volume of properly prepared mixture in a given space than other designs; it is much more simple to assemble and build; it gives the maximum amount o f time for carrying out the initial mixing of air and oil vapors at the lowest possible temperatures. I have found by experiment that there are certain heights relative to diameters which are most effective, and the object of this design is to get a practical height that can be used and still give enough time and room to hydroxylate and complete the chemical reactions therein at the rate at which the mixture is produced. The more mixture-produced, the less time a given quantity of mixture can remain in the chamber. In order to get an adequate mixture inthe burner, one must have the most advantageous arrangement of air ports and vaporizing pool on the bottom ofthe chamber. In order to get the quickest complete mixing, one must have the maximum number of holes practical to use without getting them so small that they would be impractical in operation. In the areas around any given large hole, there is a large percentage of air in the center of the jet around the hole. If the hole is too large, it can produce a, cracking temperature of ame inside the hole.

Due to the design of this mixing chamber, the air is distributed into this mixing chamber so that a mixing of air and oil vapors is obtained before combustion. The same result has been accomplished in the past by means of mixing in a fan arrangement, while with my improved construction it is done without any moving parts. The design of the mixing chamber is such that the quantity and the rate of mixing is directly controlled thereby and increased capacity is secured with a given outside dimension of the burner, and the heat output of this type of mixing chamber is larger than other mixing chambers now in use,

The amount of oil burned per hour depends on the dimensions. For a given diameter, more mixture will be produced than is produced by other designs on the market. This may partially be attributed to the manner in which the air is directed into the mixing chamber.

The air is blown downwardly and across the surface of the oil pool on the floor of the burner, thereby creating a movement which takes the molecules of accumulated gas from the surface and moves them upwardly and out of the mixing chamber.

In Fig. 11, I have illustrated a modified mixing chamber I2 which diiers somewhat from the preferred form. In this form I provide a throat portion I2a flared outwardly from the opening I3 at the upper end of the mixing chamber proper. An advantage of this structure is that due to' the fact that the air jets in the throat portion are directed upwardly, the mixture which passes through the neck or opening I3 is even more violently agitated and mixed, and is also more rapidly drawn out of the mixing chamber. I have found-by experiment that either structure herein described operates very efficiently and satisfactorily.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that applicant has provided an extremely simple, cheap, and economical construction. Due to the manner in which the burner and its supporting frame are associated, it will be apparent A that installation is a comparatively easy matter.

While I have illustrated and described a specific embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various detailed Achanges and modifications may be made in the exact structure shown, and 'I do not wish to limit myself in any particular; rather what I desire to secure and protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

i. An oil burner structure comprising an apertured, frusto-conical, metal tubular member forming a mixing chamber, an elongated air conduit associated therewith and having one end portion surrounding said tubular member with its side wall spaced therefrorxna ring member engaging theA upper side of said air conduit and having an axial opening with a tapered shoulder therearound forming a seat which engages the upper edge of said tubular member, a burner bowl having an upwardly extending shoulder forming a seat engaging the lower edge of said tubular member and a peripheral flange engaging the lower side of said air conduit, and means connecting said ring member and peripheral fiange which clamps said burner bowl, tubular member and air conduit together as a unitary air-tight structure.

2. An oil burner structure comprising an apertured, frusto-conical, metal tubular member forming a mixing chamber, an elongated air conduit associated therewith and having one end portion surrounding said tubular member with its side wall spaced therefrom, a ring member engaging the upper side of said air conduit and having an axial opening with a tapered shoulder therearound forming a seat which engages the upper edge of said tubular member, a burner bowl having an upwardly extending shoulder forming a seat engaging the lower edge of said tubular member and a peripheral flange engaging the lower side of said air conduit, means connecting said ring member and peripheral flange which clamps said burner bowl, tubular member and air conduit together as a unitary air-tight structure, said means comprising bolt members fastened between said ring member and the peripheral ange of said burner bowl.

3. An oil burner structurecomprising an apertured, frusto-conical, metal tubular member forming a mixing chamber, an elongated air conduit associated therewith and having one end portion surrounding said tubular member with its side wall spaced therefrom, a ring member engaging the upper side of said air conduit and having an axial opening with a tapered shoulder therearound forming a seat which engages the upper edge of said tubular member, a burner bowl having an upwardly extending shoulder forming a seat engaging the lower edge of said tubular member, and a peripheral flange engaging the lower side of said air conduit, fuel and gas conduits communicating with the floor of said burner bowl, said conduits extending parallel to and below said air conduit, means connecting said ring member and peripheral flange to clamp said burner bowl, tubular member and air conduit together as aunitary air-tight structure and a.

v combined supporting frame and closure member 

